FORMER SUPERMARKET boss Don Tidey told a court yesterday of the "battleground" that erupted around him when security forces rescued him from his kidnappers almost 25 years ago.
Mr Tidey, who is now in his 70s, said he heard a burst of gunfire, followed by more gunfire and an explosion, possibly caused by a grenade, after gardaí and soldiers surrounded the hideout where he had been held captive for 23 days in 1983.
He described to the Special Criminal Court how after his rescue a Garda inspector held a gun to his head while he confirmed his identity.
Mr Tidey, who was chairman and chief executive of the Associated British Food companies in Northern Ireland and the Republic, said he could not identify any of his captors. He was giving evidence on the second day of the trial of Maze prison escaper Brendan "Bik" McFarlane.
Mr McFarlane (56), a father of three, Jamaica Street, Belfast, was arrested outside Dundalk and charged in January 1998.
He has pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning Donald James Tidey on dates unknown between November 24th and December 16th, 1983. He denied possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life at Derrada Wood, Drumcronan, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, between November 25th and December 16th, 1983, and possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose between the same dates.
Mr Tidey told prosecuting counsel Edward Comyn SC that he left his home in his Daimler car at Woodtown Way, Rathfarnham, at 7.50am on November 24th, 1983 to take his 13-year-old daughter to school and with his son Alistair in his own car behind him.
He was flagged down by a man who appeared to be a garda who asked his name, then put a gun to his head and told him to get out of his car.
Mr Tidey said he resisted but was forcibly thrown into the back of a car where people sat on him, rupturing his ribcage. He was struck heavily on the head with the butt of a weapon. After a period of time he was put into a van and after a tortuous journey they stopped at farmland where he was interrogated about things in his diary and people who might be contacted. He was told he had been kidnapped.
He was then taken by vehicle to a destination where he was to spend his captivity. Mr Tidey said that he was manacled with his legs chained, handcuffs and a hood placed over his head.
He said that the handcuffs were "antiquated' because they were too small for his wrists and caused him considerable pain. He was deprived of sight by a blindfold. He said he settled into a daily routine in which he was taken to a clearing, a bucket of bog water was thrown over him and he was able to wash with some soap.
At one stage when the weather was dry he was chained to a tree with his legs and wrists manacled. He said he was given food, mainly bread, occasionally jam and once or twice a segment of fruit. He was also given tea and soup.
During his captivity his business suit and fine cotton shirt were replaced with a thick shirt and combat-style clothing and he was given Wellington boots stuffed with straw to keep his feet warm.
He said that on the 22nd day of his captivity the routine changed and it was clear that his captors were concerned about noise.
On the 23rd day his hood was removed and replaced with a balaclava and his legs were unchained. He was aware of noise and movement and heard voices and the sound of dogs. He understood that the security forces were closing in on them and he heard someone ask another person about identifying people.
"There was a burst of gunfire, then more gunfire, and frankly from that moment on it became a battleground. It changed immediately because once firing had broken out, everybody made their own arrangements. My arrangement under fire was to hit the ground, which I did. I rolled down an incline into bracken and took in my circumstances. There was gunfire. There was to the best of my recollection an explosion, which I judged was a grenade.
"When I looked up, I was looking into the muzzle of a weapon just a short distance from my forehead. The situation froze. I looked along the length of the barrel and saw a soldier. Behind the soldier I saw a young guard or maybe two." Mr Tidey said that he said "I am a hostage" and pointed to his chest.
He said he learned subsequently that the soldier and garda thought he was going for a gun and he added: "By the grace of God, he didn't pull the trigger." He said the soldier and garda did not recognise him and he was taken across several fields losing his trousers and boots in the process. "I was led for two or three hundred yards across the field where I was delivered into the hands of the taskforce, who took some time to determine I was who I was."
He met Sgt (Nacie) Rice and Insp (Bill) Somers and Insp Somers "held a gun to my head to ascertain who I was".
Mr Tidey said that a car then approached them at speed and the occupants opened fire on them with automatic weapons. He and Insp Somers jumped to the ground but a soldier was hit in the legs. Mr Tidey said he could not identify any of his captors.